It is very difficult and time consuming for an individual to fold paper to provide certain multi-sided symmetrical designs. For example, it is quite difficult to manually fold paper or the like to produce three, five, six and seven-sided symmetrical designs. Such designs, however, may be of interest for spiritual, aesthetic or entertainment purposes. Typical designs would include, stars (five and six-sided), snowflakes (six-sided), and other similar arrangements. The completed decorative symmetrical object may be cut or uncut or folded or unfolded dependent upon the nature of the decorative symmetrical object.
The present invention relates to a method which allows an individual to readily form a decorative symmetrical object. The method of the invention incorporates a step of pre-folding a substantially flat sheet of flexible material in a certain manner utilizing mechanical means and then completing the folding manually. The method utilizes a male and female die member to perform the initial pre-folding step. This has been found to greatly facilitate manual completion of the folding operation by the hobbyist or other person performing the task.
Applicant is aware of the following U.S. patents which generally disclose various approaches for forming articles constructed of sheet material, including the employment of male and female die members: U.S. Pat. No. 2,023,687, issued Dec. 10, 1935, U.S. Pat. No. 2,633,657, issued Apr. 7, 1953, U.S. Pat. No. 1,012,026, issued Dec. 19, 1911, U.S. Pat. No. 1,645,931, issued Oct. 18, 1927, U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,248, issued Jun. 22, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 2,292,403, issued Aug. 11, 1942, U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,811, issued Jan. 20, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,499, issued Jan. 26, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,109, issued Nov. 29, 1988, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,161, issued Dec. 17, 1991.
There is, however, no showing of utilizing male and female die members as suggested herein to form preliminary folds in connection with a decorative symmetrical object which are subsequently manually manipulated to complete the folding process.